There is something wrong with the patient’s genital area; she has been feeling changes in her vulva for months. However, tests for sexually transmitted diseases are negative – there is something else behind it.
Recorded by Diana Helfrich
This text comes from the stern archive and first appeared in March 2023.
Some time ago, a woman in her mid-thirties came to my gynecological practice and said: “Can you take a look? Everything feels so tight.” At the first appointment a few months earlier, she had complained of itching. Even then, her vulva was rather pale and dry for that of a young woman. A smear showed a bacterial infection, which I treated with antibiotics.
When she came back, she was desperate and told me her story: she had been feeling her vagina changing for months. Recently, she could hardly use her menstrual cup during her period. She had suffered from numerous fungal infections over the past five years; these had been treated with vaginal tablets and creams. She had also had several genital herpes infections with blisters at the entrance to the vagina and an agonizing burning sensation – antiviral tablets worked every time, but the itching remained. A test for common sexually transmitted diseases did not reveal any further evidence. The woman was not feeling well, not least because intercourse was becoming increasingly painful and she bled afterwards.